In Berkeley, high-end homes are making a comeback

In Berkeley, $1m+ homes like this one on Linden St are seeing multiple bids — and often cash offers.

In certain Berkeley neighborhoods realtors and their clients are reacquainting themselves with a term that has not been in frequent use recently: namely “bidding war”.

In the past few weeks alone, a couple of dozen homes in Berkeley have attracted multiple bidders — according to anecdotal evidence gleaned from conversations with local real-estate agents.

Among them: this Bernard Maybeck designed home at 2960 Linden St in the Elmwood neighborhood. The two-bedroom house went on the market in mid-October for $1,095,000, is believed to have had eight offers, and sold just a month later for $1,231,000.

Another quintessentially Berkeley home — all brown shingle and historic pedigree — had several offers after listing 29 days ago. The George Plowman-designed three-bedroom home at 2830 Garber St is pending sale at $1,150,000.

The $1m plus home market is seeing a boost from a significant number of cash buyers. Broker Tracy Sichterman at Berkeley Hills Realty recently analysed data for 42 $1m+ homes listed in Berkeley and Oakland which had closed escrow in the last three months. She found that 13 — or 31% — were presented with all-cash offers. Many others had down payments that were greater than half the sale price.

As Sichterman points out, there is nothing in the current bail-out that supports the luxury real-estate market. Cash has stepped into this void, at least in parts of Berkeley.